Former Poway man dies in Marine training exercise
 PFC NICHOLAS WILDE |
The death of former Poway resident Pfc. Nicholas “Nick” Wilde, who died during a training mission at Camp Pendleton last Thursday, still is under investigation.
The 22-year-old died Aug. 25 while performing land training navigation, according to information provided by the Marines.
During those maneuvers, Marines went out individually on the course. When Wilde didn’t return in the expected time, platoon members were sent to search for him.
He was found unconscious and transported by helicopter to Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton, where he was pronounced dead at about 1:30 p.m.
That exercise was the final phase of becoming a full-fledged member of the 1st Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division at Pendleton, according to his father, Bruce Wilde.
Considered an “elite” group, making it into the 1st Recon unit is considered an honor, according to a base spokesman.
“We were really proud of his accomplishments,” said his father. “He was truly happy to be a Marine.”
Although his parents, Bruce and Debbie Wilde, suspected that their son might be bound for Iraq in the next few months, they supported his decision every step of the way, according to Bruce Wilde.
Nick Wilde, who attended Poway High School for a few years, but ultimately went to New Directions before working on his own to get his high school diploma, joined the Marines on Dec. 6, 2004.
Wilde’s best friend, James Allenbach, is coping with his grief by making T-shirts for a group of buddies. Allenbach and Wilde’s friendship dates back to their time at Twin Peaks Middle School.
“He was always happy and had something nice to say about people — and he was really funny,” Allenbach said.
The shirts will show a beaming Wilde in a photo taken sometime after he finished basic training. Simple wording will be, “In loving memory of Nick Wilde,” along with his birth date, Dec. 20, 1982 and the date he died, Aug. 25, 2005.
Watching his friend go from being a teen-ager to a Marine was a dramatic change that was accompanied by goals that changed Wilde “drastically,” but not in a way that the bond between friends ever eroded, according to Allenbach.
Wilde’s parents moved to Sparks, Nevada about two years ago. Knowing that their son continued to have strong Poway ties they decided to have some of the services in the Poway area.
A memorial will be held at 1 p.m. on Saturday at New Hope Church, 10330 Carmel Mountain Road in Rancho Penasquitos.
Pastor Jeff Horne of Green Valley Church in Poway is expected to help with those services because Wilde was active in the church’s youth group before joining the military, according to a family friend.
Another memorial is set for Sept. 8 in Nevada, where Wilde will be laid to rest with full military honors in a Reno cemetery, close to his parent’s home.
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